Turkish-German built solar plant starts operations

A 25-megawatt (MW) solar energy plant, established by a Turkish-German consortium consisting of three firms, started power generation operations in Gaziantep's Islahiye district.

Speaking to journalists, İsmet Ersoy, the chairman of the company that founded the power plant, pointed to the importance of renewable energy and hopes the plant will be beneficial.

Vice Chairman Ogeday Baltacıoğlu, on the other hand, said the solar power plant built on approximately 600 acres of land is at 25 MW of power. Baltacığlu noted that it is currently the largest solar power plant generating energy in Turkey.

"There are bigger facilities already licensed in Turkey, but ours is now the largest energy-generating power plant that was already completed in Turkey," he said. "We have undertaken both installation and operation of the plant. We produce solar power-based energy. We completed the facility in a very short time. We thank all our co-workers for this."

Baltacıoğlu said they will include an additional 13 MW-capacity power plant in their energy production if they receive the necessary permits.

Noting that there are 100,000 solar panels and 1,000 inverters in the field, Baltacıoğlu said they produce 100 percent clean renewable energy for Turkey. "Islahiye is one of the best sun-drenched regions. Even though it is November, we can walk around with short sleeves," he said.

Baltacıoğlu also added that a remote data monitoring system is used in the plant which has a meteorological measurement station.